After living in Norton last year, one of the most significant differences I’ve noticed between my old dorm and my new one (Bushnell) are others people’s reactions to where I live. My stating this is usually met with bewildered questions like, “All girls? So are, like, any guys allowed?” and earnest confessions, such as, “Wow, I could never live with only girls. That’d be terrible.”
The reason why these responses are so striking is not at all because I find them offensive. I don’t. I personally chose not to attend an all-girls college because I, too, used to think I couldn’t only be around girls all the time. I loved living in Norton last year, but I honestly haven’t noticed a difference. I still share a bathroom with girls. I still share a room with a girl. And most of the people I see in the hallway are, in fact, girls. But no, there’s no barbed-wire fence encircling the perimeter of Bushnell to keep guys out, just as no little alarm bell starts ringing when they swipe their K-Cards. If any large difference exists in the way that I live, it’s actually having to put on a coat and trudge across campus a little ways to visit friends who happen to be male. Logistically, this might have been the case even if I did live in a co-ed dorm.
So, give Bushnell a break. It could use a little love. After all, it’s not a convent, and we’re a friendly bunch. Don’t be afraid to stop by! We may have a half-working piano and only one unisex bathroom, but the rest is really no less cozy or enjoyable than where you live.